The Mararuders' Sucessors
by DanceDragon
Summary: Candice is about to make her debut in dance... until she gets her Hogwarts letter! Determined to stay in the life she loves, Candice has to take drastic measures to escape entering the Wizarding World. Disclaimer: most to JK Rowling
1. Candice

Candice walked up the steps to the Interlochen School of Performing Arts. It was one of the best schools in America, and she had just received word that all of her high school days would be spent at Interlochen. The building looked like a summer camp, and It was, she herself had taken there until now. And her foster family? She had got in on a scholarship, and would stay there by herself until she was ready to take on Broadway. She smiled. Things had gone well. She had had quite a few paying jobs by now, and had enough to support herself. Besides, her parents had left her money when they died. She didn't need her foster parents any longer. She had no love for her foster parents; she had been to at least nine or ten pairs by now since she was orphaned.  
  
She had a dancer's body. Skinny, graceful, pale, with a perfect natural arch to her feet, and though rather small for her age, she was the best dancer in her class. Dance was her love, her passion, and although she was extremely bright, she would live as a dancer her entire life. Candice was an orphan; she had been so since she a baby. It was June 14, on a typical hot Michigan summer day. She had just turned 14, and was here to move into her dorm room, and begin the first chapter on her way to greatness. Of course, she had been taking classes from here since sixth grade, and loved them. Her dark jade eyes shone with happiness as she was shown her room, and left to unpack. Only one thing could ruin her. Sighing painfully, she recalled that day, right after her 11th birthday, when the first letter had come.  
  
This was it. Candice thought as she took the steps two-at-a time. Today she would get it. She put on her ballet shoes, and stood at the very front of the barre. Class began. Her weight was on her toes, her back was ramrod straight, her head was perfectly erect, her toes beautifully turned out, and her arms were as graceful as swan's wings. She went through barre with flaws so tiny only a professional could see them, and Candice loved it. Loved the beauty, loved the grace, the perfection as she sank down into a grande pile. Her foot flowed through the sharp fra-pays, the graceful ron- de-shons, and the high grande battlement. After a quick water break, it was time for center work, work done away from the barre. The teacher demonstrated the flowing, quick movements across the floor, and Candice followed her every word. She shivered with excitement. She hadn't yet nailed her triple pirouette. This is an action in which the foot comes up to the knee, the remaining foot is on tiptoe, and the dancer spins. The music started. Candice took her place, then jumped into the music, to flow with it, to ride with it, to express it. She prepared, choose her spot (an object for dancers to watch as they spin. This keeps them from getting dizzy, they watch their spot until their heads won't turn anymore, and then they whip their heads around.) And felt her balance go just the way she wanted. She had plenty of power, and for a split second Candice thought she had too much, but there she was, spinning in perfect control, in perfect time to the music. Once, twice, three times Candice spun, than held her pose (on leg up to the knee, one on tiptoe) for just a moment longer, then landed it perfectly. She smiled. Her triple pirouette. At the end of the combination, the teacher frowned at her. Everyone knew she wore a wig, and she had called Candice to get rid of her chewing gum. Candice smiled sweetly, and spit it right into her wig.  
  
Candice was in New York, taking dance lessons from Julliard, and she was happy. Strange or unusual things had been happening of late, when she got angry, things would explode, or her thoughts would transfer to another's mind. She had been talking on the phone with her best friend, Ada, when it had happened.  
  
"I know! I couldn't believe the look on her face!"  
  
"That was an utter classic, I swear, Miss Karen will never demand anything of you ever again! You are brilliant, Candice!" Ada exclaimed, referring to the latest prank Candice had pulled on her dance teacher.  
  
"I'm just a bit worried she won't cast me as the lead in the winter performance. You don't think she's that mad, do you?"  
  
"Well let's see, you spit the gum you had been chewing into her wig. After all that talk about ballet dancers should be proper young ladies, you just ruined her wig! I don't think she's very happy with you, but if you don't make the part, it will be her loss and she knows it." They broke off into a fit of giggles. Catching her breath, Candice pulled her long, straight sheet of jet-black hair out of the bun that had confined it, and bounced on her bed with pure excitement.  
  
"I'll bet she has a substitute on Thursday!" Candice laughed, her smile spreading ear to ear, her dark green eyes sparkling with mischief.  
  
"I think you're right! But listen, Candice, I have to go. Mom wants me to look after Johnny."  
  
"Bummer. See you tomorrow then!" Candice hung up the phone, and opened her window to the loud, crazy city of New York. She lived in an apartment with her foster parents, and her room was rather plain. They always were. All of her foster parents seemed to think she needed to decorate her own room, a sign of individuality or something. She then pulled her backpack out from under her bed, and began to study. School amused her; she always passed with flying colors. She was a mechanical genius, she had recently designed a door alarm that connected to her laptop and told her the identity of the person outside before unlocking the door. Her door was locked, and her current foster parents had to work during the day, so she would be undisturbed for quite a while. She was quite absorbed in what she was doing. Suddenly, a giant dusty barn owl swooped in through her window, and began to screech at her. She yelled with alarm, and her mouth dropped open. An owl? Surely they only came out at night! She stood on her bed, and took the heavy history book she was holding, and went after the beast that had dared to enter her domain! Yes, this one was sick, and she wasn't going to allow it near her! The bird screeched with indignity, flew out of her window, and hovered on the ledge of the apartment building, barely out of reach. Seething with frustration, Candice ran to her widow and slammed it down, then glanced around the plain room to see if the creature had caused any damage. There was a letter on her bed, where there had been none before. In green ink, it stated, Miss C. Potter, Apartment D26, Rovel Apartments, New York City, New York, United States of America. There could be no mistake; this letter was for her. She opened it, and her mouth dropped open. It stated:  
  
Dear Miss Potter,  
  
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  
  
Candice finished reading the letter, becoming more and more angry as it went on to say that a school supply list was enclosed, she was to send a letter by owl to them affirming she would be in LONDON by September 1st. When she finished reading it, she was in considerable temper. How dare these people think she would leave her dancing? How dare they cart her off to London? What was this crap anyway? She read it again, then again. She was furious. She stared at the letter, hard. A rumbling sounded in her ears as the letter burst into flames. She jumped a little, then tore about her room for parchment and quill. Succeeding in finding both, she wrote furiously:  
  
I find this a rather cruel joke. I have no interest in attending your Shitcraft School, And would appreciate it if you never contacted me again.  
  
Yours truly,  
  
Candice Potter  
  
Leaving it in an envelope, she checked to see if the owl was still there-- it was. Send your owl. the words rang through her head. The owl had brought the letter. So it made sense that the owl would bring it back. But if the owl thought she was stupid enough to stick her hand out the window to give it the letter, and say 'Bite me, bite me!' the owl was mistaken. Addressing the envelope to 'The Lunatic Hogs with Warts in London She opened her window and retreated to her door. The owl entered the room again, and, giving Candice a reproachful look, grabbed the letter in its beak, and flew away. Candice thought that would be the last she would hear from them.  
  
One week later, another owl came to her window. This one tapped on it until she opened the window and received the letter. This letter was scarlet, and smoking around the edges. Candice did not have to open it; the letter itself started screaming at her. She was horribly scared, and heard the letter out from a position of defiance, very near the door. HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY HAS NOTED YOUR DISREPECT, AND DOES NOT APPRECIATE IT!!! AS A WITCH WITHOUT TRAINING, YOU HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO ENTER A TYPE OF MAGICAL LEARNING PROGRAM. HOGWARTS IS ONE OF THE BEST WIZARDING SCHOOLS AND WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU ENTER HERE!!!! This was all in a lady's voice, a teacher by the sound of it, strictly pronounced every syllable with increasing fury. Candice had angered these people. The owl was still outside, waiting for a return message. Candice again sought parchment and quill and wrote:  
  
I am highly contented with the life I have at the moment, And wish to stay this way. You cannot force me to go To your school, and I'm not coming. Yours truly,  
  
Candice Potter  
  
Now was time for drastic action. It made her sad, but these people were seriously harassing her, and if there was anything at all being an orphan had taught her, it was to rely on herself, life would always be against her. So she felt it necessary to change her location. The next time the social worker came, she pleaded discomfort in her surroundings. She was moved to Michigan. Here she found Interlochen, and her new life. As for the letters, her next owl visited her in Michigan, this time with a package, instead of a letter. She dared not open the package. And so it sat in her new foster parents' closet until late August, when Candice received yet another owl. This owl contained a letter, and it was white, like any normal letter should be. Still Candice's pretty face contorted into a scowl when she saw it, and opened it with extreme caution. She had concluded that these people were lunatics, and who knew what they could do?  
  
Dear Miss Potter,  
  
Due to your disconsent to agree to be trained as a witch, your abilities have been tested and we are pleased to inform you that you qualify for private training as a mind magician, a special kind of magical talent, found rarely even among the wizarding world. If you open the package previously sent, you will find further instruction to begin your magical education. We warn you that this arrangement can only continue for a maximum of three years. We also feel compelled to remind you that if you choose to reject this offer, we must report you to MoM (Ministry of Magic) and it is highly likely a representative of that organization will force you to comply with our wishes.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Minerva McGonagall  
  
Candice doubted these people, more than ever she doubted what she had to learn from them. But this was definitely the best offer they had proposed, she could learn at home, and continue dancing. And as for the time limit, well, she would cross that bridge when she came to it. So she retrieved the package from inside her closet, and stood staring at it for a long time. If the package had been human, it would have quailed under the pretty young woman's defiant gaze. But it was not, and very cautiously and slowly, Candice began to unwrap the package. 


	2. The Beginning

It was a laptop. A laptop with a giant coat of arms on top, proclaiming Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, with a badger, an eagle, a snake, and a lion. Candice frowned. She hadn't suspected these people would have computers. Well, this was the 1990's, maybe this one was special. Starting with the way it couldn't be opened. There seemed no way to open it. Getting frustrated, Candice stared at laptop with her arms crossed and shouted:  
  
"OPEN YOU DAMN THING!" It opened. So, it's word coded is it? Candice thought. A sharp lady with her mouth in a very straight line raised an eyebrow at her.  
  
"I am not amused. You have kept me waiting for a very long time. You nearly missed school opening. Your schoolbooks are on the desktop, you may owl-order everything else from here. Here is what you need to order, send the money with the owl that brought the letter." The lady said, and the video ended.  
  
Candice went that very day to withdraw money form her account to give to the owl. She hoped someone would sort out the whole wizard/people money difference, she didn't much understand the wizarding money, and had only sent normal. She ordered a cauldron, a set of glass phials, a telescope, and a set of brass scales. She could have sworn that in her first letter it had said she needed a wand, but maybe these mind magicians didn't use them.  
  
In no less than three days, a flutter of owls entered her room with the items she had ordered. She had already been looking at her textbooks, and was mostly reading "A History of Magic". She found this book most helpful in deciphering wizard's ways. Sure enough, when she heard from the voice on the computer again, it told her she would start by learning magical history, and would take the first three years of tests on it before she moved on.  
  
Looking back on it now, Candice couldn't imagine how she had handled it all, school, dance, and magic. Anyway, in preparation for when they would again call for her to come to Hogwarts, Candice began practicing two more activities: Martial Arts, and Gymnastics. Martial Arts to ensure they couldn't physically harm her, and gymnastics to ensure speed and agility. Candice felt that when the time came, she would end up fighting what sounded like one of the most advanced species known (or unknown) to man. 


	3. Lessons in HP Biology

'If you believe that the first wizard became so by noticing that strange things happened when he willed them to, discovered, oh, let's say a unicorn, stuck one of it's hairs in a piece of wood, said some gibberish and invented a spell, you're wrong. The first wizard used only his mind. He called himself a mind magician. Magic began as a person acquiring of a type of sixth sense gene. Born of supernatural beliefs, this gene reproduces recessive, and when activated, usually by particularly strong emotion, a chemical reaction can take place. The gene reacts with blood, and creates magical energy. The emotion has to be very very strong. As in a tragic event occurring, or the death of the person closest to you, or a life-changing decision. The first wizard was 22 when he became so. Although the exact age is unknown, it is believed that the gene (if never active) will became permanently inactive after a certain age. When a wizard and a muggle (non-magic folk) produce child, the child will receive the gene, but the gene is usually inactive. If the child receives the gene (inactively, of course) from the other parent, the gene becomes active, and the child is magical. People who receive one of these genes, a hybrid, has what is called potential wizardry, has the gene, but is classified as muggle due to the gene being inactive. Muggle- born wizards are children who received the gene from both parents, who must be potential wizards. Squibs are mutations.  
  
The first outbreak of wizards happened in the Caribbean, during the time when humans were cannibals. Wizards were not regarded as dangerous until the Salem witch trials, they were regarded as priests. These priests would often gather together, and share the knowledge they had acquired of late.  
  
However, after the first generation of mind magicians, they realized that they would die out very soon. As there were not many mind magicians yet, the gene would remain inactive unless a tragic event occurred. The magicians had to find a way to activate the gene without a tragic event. The solution didn't come to them, until they found their residue magic entering animals, and creating magical beasts. Then came the era of magical beasts, when animals were tampered with until they created a new species. It was around that time when the wand was invented.  
  
The invention of the wand, like any other incredible discovery, happened by accident. A wizard married a muggle, and his son contained the gene, inactive. The wizard would often take his son for walks in the wood. Apparently, they came upon a dead unicorn, lying by a tree. The son leaned against the tree with one hand, and bent down to touch the unicorn with the other. A shower of red sparks erupted, and the wand had been discovered. It was found that any mix of wood and magical creature would unlock the gene. Some magical creatures worked better than others did. Among these are the phoenix, the unicorn, and the dragon. Today, in order not to harm these creatures (except the dragon) feathers are taken from the phoenix, and hairs from the unicorn. In that way the mind magicians continued to reproduce, and prosper. However, the mind magicians found that the magic produced by a wand is only active when in contact with the holder. While mind magicians didn't need a wand, the new magicians couldn't perform magic without it. All wizards have a trace of mind magician magic in their blood. Children, of course, are not to be trusted with wands until they reach age eleven, the beginning wizard schooling age. Around this time, the mind magician in children will often show up in little episodes until they receive their wands.  
  
The mind magicians had always known that the magic they performed was more effective when said in words, but the new magicians needed words for the magic they performed. In that way, the first book of spells was made, the words produced according to a language long forgotten, that most closely aspires with Latin. Because of their close contact with animals and magic mixed together, most mind magicians were animagi. Today, most animagi have mind magician magic in their blood. Magically produced animagi is performed by enhancing the mind magician blood magic into an animal form. In the end, the mind magicians did die out, but a new kind of magician was born, the wizard.'  
  
Candice sat back against her chair. Her report was finished. Her assignment had been to write a foot long report on the creation of the wizard. Her first assignment. She felt rather proud; she now knew where she came from, and how she came to be. That meant both of her parents had been wizards, and their death had caused her to become a mind magician. She wondered for a split second how her parents had really died. The official story was their house had burned down. This was true, the house had burned. Her parents' bodies were never found, thought to be burned out of recognition. This was probably true too. The strange part of the tale of her parents' deaths had been that she had been left unharmed. She had been nine months old, and was found at the front doorstep of the house. She hadn't caught on fire, and she hadn't died. She now supposed someone had cast a fire-resistant spell on her, but if the spell had been cast on her, why hadn't her parents cast it on themselves? She shook her head; she probably would never know what happened to them.  
  
She was beginning to enjoy this work. Not as much as regular school or dance, but she could see how this could be paradise for certain people. The voice left lessons for her daily on the laptop. She had no Internet connections; this computer was simply for schoolwork. Besides learning the history of magic, she was learning basic mind magician techniques. The voice had told her that she herself was an animagus, she could turn into a cat. Therefore, she had some mind magician in her too. The first step was shielding. Putting a magical wall around her mind, so she didn't communicate her thoughts to others' minds. Once she had shields, there was the tactic of breaking someone else's to look into their minds. Then there was resisting someone breaking her shields. Then came basic human levitation, seeing far-away places, and thought-speaking. The rest was mostly what regular students learned. Candice was good at this, no matter what she wanted to do with her life. She got good grades, and passed her tests. For three glorious years she had it all: witchcraft, school, dance, gymnastics, and martial arts. Now she had gotten into Interlochen, and the voice had been silent. 


	4. The Chase

Candice sighed as she unpacked her few belongings, and thought of the laptop at   
the bottom of her suitcase. She then fingered the tickets she held. Every week, for the   
next five, she would visit a different place. She would go under a different name. They   
wouldn't find her. They would give up, and then she would go back to Michigan, and go   
to the high school where she belonged, Interlochen. Until the first letter, Candice would   
dance all day, to make up for her five-week vacation. She loved that week, the week   
before the letter came.   
  
It had come. Candice almost cried. Just like three years ago, it stated:  
  
Dear Miss C. Potter,  
  
We are pleased to inform you that your education is to be continued at Hogwarts   
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Your ticket is enclosed, your train leaves from   
King's Cross station, London England, at 10:00, from platform 9 _. Your list of school   
supplies is also enclosed.   
  
Sincerely,   
  
Minerva McGonagall  
  
Candice now purposely burned the letter. A fire spell whispered at the letter, then   
canceled when it had burned took care of that. Candice packed her bags, and left.   
  
Candice had fun at the places she went, to Hawaii, and took surfing lessons, to   
California, and toured Hollywood, to the Grand Canyon, to Luray Caverns, and finally,   
back to New York. In New York, she stayed with Ada. There was no word from   
Hogwarts. Yet she could Farsee now, and she knew they were looking for her. She had   
been reported to the MoM. At the end of five weeks, she wanted desperately to return to   
Interlochen, but she remained at Ada's for one more week. When she returned to   
Interlochen, it was but two days until September 1st. Candice was nervous, very nervous.   
Yet nothing happened. No one had come to see her while she was away. Had they given   
up? Was she free? She calmed her nerves by reading, lying on her bed, against her   
pillow. She read very late that night. Near midnight, she stopped. She did not get up, but   
she listened. She very quietly listened for whatever had made that noise. The clock struck   
12, and she felt as if her she were being dragged by her back. She cursed. Her pillow had   
been turned into a portkey. She landed at the feet of a giant man. Bushels of untidy brown   
hair hid most of his ruddy face and twinkling black eyes. She got up, and ran. Her heart   
pounding, she didn't even know where she was. A sign said "The Leaky Cauldron", still   
in her pajamas, she kicked the wizard guarding the door (she knew martial arts would pay   
off) and raced into a backyard type of place. The giant was right behind her. This was the   
wizarding world, there had to be an opening somewhere in that brick wall. Invoking her   
will, the wall opened at her command. She smiled. Diagon Alley, the sign said.   
Wherever, she didn't care. She ran through the wall, leaving the giant to open the wall his   
way. Her eyes darted her and there, and she ran into the nearest shop, it was closed of   
course, and the door didn't open. She continued to try the doors of each shop. None   
would open. She cursed in frustration and ran towards the only escape that she could see,   
the bank, Gringotts. She ran up the stairs and hid in the corner of the doors. The giant was   
coming. If only she could apparate! The giant moved closer. A wisp of air chilled her   
spine, as a sharp voice she knew too well sounded behind her.   
  
"Forget it, Hagrid, I've found her. Stupefy!" 


	5. Trapped in the Leaky Cauldron

Candice woke up. She woke up, but she wished she hadn't. She was in a room, what looked like a hotel room. There were no windows. Muttering the same opening command she had used on the wall behind the Leaky Cauldron she waited in hope that something might open, nothing did. There was a door on one side of the room, rising, she tried the lock.   
  
"Damn!" she whispered. The door was locked and wizard-protected. She was reaching panic. Then she saw her things. Her wardrobe, full of the bold-colored, tight clothes she loved, her books, her fantasy novels, the ones she read all the time, her box of dance magazines, her dance materials, her dance awards, everything. It all fit into one big trunk, now lying open beside her bed. Everything. Every article that had been in her dorm at Interlochen, everything that had been still packed. They had taken her dancing away from her. She lay down on her bed, the shock of what they had done to her overwhelming her system. She cried in anguish, she was in absolute misery. There was nothing she could do; they would make her go to Hogwarts. She knew they didn't have "muggle activities" there. And she wasn't allowed off of school grounds, she knew that from the rulebook. The rulebook...The laptop was sitting on top of her bed, and she nudged it with her magic to make it open, she logged on, and read the rulebook again, and again. The words engraved themselves in her mind. Fire danced in the twin dark green spots of color on her face. 'Expulsion: this is the most formidable form of punishment Hogwarts offers. The offending student will find him/herself with a snapped wand, and a life of living with muggles forever. (Unless a figure of importance speaks for them, in which they will be allowed to stay in the wizarding world.)' Candice smiled through her now bleary red eyes. The last of her tears dried. Expulsion sounded wonderful, and sense she had no wand, they couldn't snap it. She would be allowed back into the muggle world, back to her dancing, back to her life. Now all she had to do was get expelled.   
  
There was one more thing Candice wanted to do before she was dragged off to Hogwarts, in her magical history books, during the time of Voldemort, or You-Know-Who, Candice had discovered that most he killed were Hogwarts Gryffindors. And that he killed families at a time, he never left anyone alive. Then she had come across the name Harry Potter, who at the age of one, caused Voldemort's curse to rebound upon himself. When she had first read it, she had dismissed the name similarity because Potter is a very common name, but now she felt she must check if she was related to this boy or not, seeing as she would be going to Hogwarts with him. She leafed through her many history books, stopping at lists of names of people You-Know-Who had killed. Her parents' names were Amy and John. Yes, there, right after the Bones' were killed. Amy and John Potter.   
  
"Amy and John Potter were one of the best spies ever to be had inside His forces. They helped complete the capture of exactly 57 death eaters before He figured who was the traitor in His midst. It was said that James Potter's younger brother's dream to catch as many death eaters as James and Lily Potter themselves, 135. They were warned the night of their death, by no other than John's brother, the well-known James Potter. In hiding themselves, they risked their lives to try and save their family members. Amy and John Potter, merely 15 minutes before the tragedy occurred, gave their 9-month-old daughter to Lily and James Potter. Lily and James were behind the house when the house went up in flames. Because the house was on fire, that meant the muggles would know, and look for, the bodies. The baby girl was crying, and while they had her, they couldn't apparate. As the death eaters began to leave, the living Potters had no choice; they left the baby girl on the front steps with a fire-resistant spell. The Potters, as you know, are now dead, and the child left on the porch is supposedly dead also."  
  
Candice stared. She had suspected her parents had been victims of Voldemort, but the book said that she was dead! She wasn't dead, she was here! She felt like shaking the laptop and telling it to make sense! She was a cousin of this Harry Potter, Harry Potter's dead cousin! She was shocked. This was too much, first being taken from Interlochen, now this. Candice fell back to bed, and fell asleep. 


	6. Harry

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley walked down Diagon Alley, talking and laughing together. It had been one of Harry's better summers, now that he could threaten his Aunt and Uncle with the appearance of Sirius; he had no trouble from them. He and Ron were discussing the Quidditch World Cup, which they had all gone to see last week. In between them walked Hermione, deeply engrossed in "The Giver". She was walking and reading at the same time, so she was depending on Ron and Harry to guide her across the streets. Harry had promised Ron a decent broomstick, so they all walked into the Quidditch supplies shop, and began discussing which broomstick would be best.  
  
"I don't suppose you'd get me a Nimbus 2001, would you?" Ron asked.  
  
"No, I'm not that rich. You don't even play Quidditch, all you need is a pleasure broom!" Harry responded. Ron gave the Nimbus on display a last wistful sigh and moved on.  
  
"How bout a Cleansweep? Harry suggested, fingering his pocketful of galleons, with a look at the Cleansweep 5 on sale.  
  
"Fred and George have cleansweeps. And they just sold them for Nimbus 500's. Those were the quality Quidditch brooms a couple years ago." Harry gave Ron a look. "Ok! So it was more than a couple years ago." Harry laughed.  
  
"Cleansweeps are good brooms. Not made for Quidditch, or racing, but good solid easy flyers, you won't fall on it, and their comfortable for traveling." Harry said, moving towards the Cleansweep 7s.  
  
"Oh, come on Harry, at least get me a Golden Arrow! There're best for aerobatics."  
  
"Oh sure, I'd love for you to go crack your head open." Harry said sarcastically.  
  
"Well Mom, here's a Golden Arrow on sale, only 25 galleons!" Ron said, imitating a radio announcer.  
  
In the end, Ron got his Golden Arrow, and lost his claim to a Christmas and birthday present from Harry that year. It was their last day before going to Hogwarts, and they decided to have Sundaes at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Ron produced five precious sickles to buy a newspaper, and started laughing. Harry and Hermione looked at him for a minute, until, shaking her head, Hermione took the paper from Ron (who was practically rolling around on the floor) and stared.  
  
"That's not funny!" Hermione said, her eyes wide. She showed Harry the front page, and Harry covered a snicker. There was Sirius, but not looking like Sirius at all. The Daily Prophet had made him appear to be more like a monster. Snarling, the picture of Sirius shouted, "I've emptied Azkaban, watch out!" Yes the picture was funny, but the news it brought wasn't. Azkaban had been emptied. How? No one knew, but it was believed to be the work of Sirius Black. It of course wasn't, but Harry and Hermione froze all the same, staring at the picture. Death eaters, even worse, insane death eaters, and were on the loose. Hermione gave an involuntary shiver against Harry, and it wasn't her ice cream. Harry was glad they would go to Hogwarts tomorrow.  
  
The next morning was chaos. Harry thanked the stars he wouldn't have to live it again. Everyone had to get out of the Leaky Cauldron, and into Mr. Weasley's new car. Well, it wasn't new, it was used, but it was new in the sense that Mr. Weasley had just gotten it. Harry loaded his trunk, trying to tune out all the noise and confusion around him. That was difficult, as Mrs. Weasley was shrieking at the twins, who each had an extra trunk full of pranks that they just wouldn't leave at home, Ginny was wailing about how she couldn't find her best robes, Mr. Weasley seemed to think colorful language would make the car run, and Ron and Hermione were yelling about Scabbers and Crookshanks-again.  
  
When everyone had sorted things out, and they had reached King's Cross, they were late, very late. Remembering what had happened when they were late in second year, Ron and Harry went first through the barrier to platform 9 ¾. They waited for Hermione, who came in with Ginny, last. The train was starting to warm up, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione just barely made it in the train. Panting, they looked down the long hall of compartments.  
  
"No! There's not going to be a single one left!" Ron moaned.  
  
"Oh, come on, there'll be something." Hermione said, taking Ron's wrist and pulling him toward the nearest compartment. Full. Sighing, Hermione tried the next compartment. Full.  
  
"Well, we could just stand." Harry said a little hopelessly.  
  
"Oh, don't be ridiculous, we can't stand that long!"  
  
"Yeah! My feet are already tired from running here!" Ron whined. Harry frowned. There were two adult ministry wizards standing beside a compartment door.  
  
"That's strange, I've never seen Ministry wizards on the train before." Hermione said, heading down to that side of the train. The train was moving by now. Hermione talked to the ministry wizards, then beckoned to Harry and Ron.  
  
"They say they're here to ensure a mind magician doesn't escape. That's all they would say." Hermione whispered, with a glance at the two ministry wizards.  
  
"Wow, I've heard about those. They're supposed to be really powerful." Ron said, awestruck. "I wonder if this one's going to Hogwarts?"  
  
"Um, mind magician?" Harry asked, feeling a little indignant.  
  
"Wizards who don't use wands, or many words, just their minds. I read about it in "Early Forms of Wizardry". They also can create magical creatures, they were the first magical people, and the secret to creating magical creatures was lost with them." Hermione recited.  
  
"That's cool. Wonder why that one wants to escape, who couldn't want to go to Hogwarts?" Harry said, doubtfully. Hermione and Ron shrugged.  
  
"The ministry wizards also said there's an open compartment beside them, but only if we want a bumpy ride." Hermione said, looking puzzled. Harry frowned and Ron shook his head. Bumpy ride?  
  
"Whatever, it's a seat, isn't it?" Ron said, jumping toward the compartment beside the one with the ministry wizards. Hermione sighed, and followed. Harry gave the guarded compartment one last look, then joined Hermione and Ron. 


	7. The Hogwarts Express

Candice woke up in a compartment, a train compartment. They moved me while I was asleep, she thought. She was alone, and her digital watch said it was 9:00 in the morning. She knew from her letter that the train left at 10:00. They had moved her early. She frowned, and tried the door. Locked. She shoved her magic into the wall. It was wizard-protected too. Damn, she thought, looking around. A window . . . She looked around. There was nothing useful in the compartment except for her trunk. Smiling slightly, she threw her powers at the trunk, lifted it, and swung it into the window. CRASH!!! The window shattered into a million pieces of glass. Candice pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and jumped after the trunk. She didn't have time to take it with her; someone would have heard the crash by now. Where could she hide? Darting quickly through a barrier, she found herself in the muggle world. She blinked. The barrier must be magic, she thought. She moved with the crowd, looking for someone who could help her. She moved up to one young man, asking for a taxi to take a poor lost girl home. He smiled at her, and walked her towards what she thought was the exit. He walked her closer to where she had started, between platforms nine and ten. She was getting nervous, sure that they were looking for her now, when the young man pulled out a wand, and promptly stunned her.  
  
She woke up, and cried. And screamed. And basically threw her magic around the compartment, watching it ricochet off the walls, screaming in frustration when it did nothing but shake the train. She exhausted her powers after 20 minutes. She slept a little, gaining some strength back, and then she discovered the two guards at her door. This was a different compartment, one with a spell on the window as well as the door. She knew the students coming later would not be in that compartment, mind magic was harder to reverse, so the window would stay broken for a while. The two guards were from MoM, and the only way Candice could see to escape the situation, was to bribe the guards.  
  
"I have to use the bathroom!" She called loudly. She waited a minute, no response.  
  
"I'm hungry!" She tried again. This was true; she hadn't eaten in since Interlochen, three days ago. She still got no response. She then used her magic to increase her stomachs protest's volume. No response.  
  
"I'm thirsty!" She tried, a last futile attempt. This time she got a response. The guard stuck his head in, and stunned her.  
  
When she awoke, the train was moving, and Candice could feel the stress of hundreds of minds on her shields. She was back to full power, her anger at being locked up intensified its ferocity. If they thought she would let them have anywhere near a comfortable ride, they were wrong! Candice thought, and with an almost insane gleam in her eye, focused a blast of power on the door where the guards were standing.  
  
Harry gaped at the window. They had walked into the compartment, to find themselves facing a completely shattered window. Hermione was one step ahead, and was stupidly staring at her wand and she repeatedly recited the reparo charm. They all sat down. The compartment was rather noisy, with all the wind rushing past the window, so they didn't talk much. About thirty minutes into the trip, the window began to repair itself, piece by piece, shard by shard. As if they had been holding it, they let out a long breath of air as the last bit of glass fit itself back into place. They didn't mention the window's strange behavior, and the witch with the food cart came around soon after. They began to relax, and idle chitchat broke out. Unlike all their other train trips, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle hadn't stopped by for a visit. They weren't missed, and Harry, Hermione, and Ron were just about to voice hopes that somehow, these three were not coming to Hogwarts this year, when the first crash came. BOOM. Came the first of a serious of shakes. The whole train was rocking back and forth. Screaming could be heard from the hall.  
  
"What's happening?" asked Ron, stealing a nervous glance toward the door. Nothing. BOOM BOOM BOOM! Harry, Ron, and Hermione fought to keep their balance, but the rocking didn't stop. Hermione called out above the noise,  
  
"I WONDER IF THE MINISTRY WIZARDS KNOW SOMETHING? I'LL CHECK!" She screamed, allowing a giant lurch from the train to propel her towards the door. She managed to get the door open, and the next series of crashes were enough to get her into the hallway.  
  
"EVERYTHING IS UNDER CONTROL! WE MUST ASK ALL OF YOU TO REMAIN IN YOUR COMPARTMENTS!" One of the ministry wizards yelled. His back was against the door, and he looked as if he was totally exhausted. Hermione tried to talk to him further, but he just yelled for her to get back to her seat, after inquiring whether or not the window had fixed itself yet. Hermione came back with quite a lot of difficulty, and the crashes and booms didn't stop. The train was coming in sight of Hogwarts, when the booms and crashes stopped.  
  
By the time the train reached Hogwarts, everyone on it was successfully tired and disheveled. The new first years looked terrified of what might happen next. When the saw Hagrid calling to them, they nearly fainted. No one else had emerged from the train, including the ministry wizards. Harry, Ron, and Hermione gratefully climbed into one of the awaiting horseless carriages. Last year they had seemed bumpy, but now the ride seemed positively graceful.  
  
"I bet the whole train fiasco was that mind magician. The one who's entering this year." Hermione grumbled, as she smoothed her rumpled robes.  
  
"Wonder how old it is?" Ron asked, looking out the window at the little shapes that were boats floating down the lake.  
  
"If that was the mind magician, it got to be at least fourth or fifth year. It rocked the whole train for almost a whole hour and a half. That's a lot of power. I'm guessing it has to be at least that old to have gained that much." Hermione said, glancing at Harry, who sat there wishing he knew more about mind magicians.  
  
"They were the first type of wizard, now very rare." Hermione said, correctly interpreting his sigh. "A lot of them were also animagi. They seem to have a talent for becoming animals." Hermione said, sounding just like a page out of one of Hogwarts' old, dusty books.  
  
"Oh." Said Harry. Then and idea came to him. "Hey, maybe if this one calms down a bit, it could teach us to be animagi! My dad pulled it off; it can't be too hard. And if this new student gets into Gryffindor, it could help us!" Harry said, now very excited. He hoped that the magician would calm down soon. Hermione, Ron and Harry continued to talk about what animals they would become if they could become and animagus. Hermione said she would be a falcon, she wasn't very good at flying on a broomstick and would love to fly as a falcon. Ron said he'd like to be a lion, for its strength and speed. Harry thought about what he'd like to be, he really didn't know. He finally decided he'd like to be a stag, in memory of his father. When he voiced his decision, the carriage grew quiet and stayed that way. 


	8. The Sorting

Candice sighed with exhaustion. She was tired. She knew the ministry wizards thought she had run out of power. She smiled at the thought. And leave herself completely vulnerable to them? Not likely. She had a little left, enough for a simple shield spell. They would not stun her again. She knew the security on her was tight at the moment. She probably wouldn't have a chance to escape. She would be on the watch for one all the same, and began to prepare her entrance. She knew she would be taken out of the train separately, and she would look nice for these freaks, even if she weren't staying for long. Opening her trunk, she pulled out her hairbrush and began combing out her long jet-black sheet of hair. Pulling it into a half ponytail, she now surveyed her wardrobe. What she was wearing now was her pajamas. She was not walking anywhere in public in her pajamas. What she would not wear was the black robes the school required. It was still fairly warm outside, but it might be chilly in the school, or building, or whatever they had. She decided she needed something that would show up against the black of all the others' robes. She finally decided on a spaghetti-strap tank top, and a tight-fitting pair of capris, both a brilliant shade of orange. She closed her trunk, and rested a little until the ministry wizards came to her.  
  
The door began to move. Candice watched the door slide open, hoping her strength would hold out long enough for the ministry wizards to stop trying to stun her. She was right when she guessed they would stun her, the minute the door opened. Two shouts of 'Stupefy!' were heard. Candice almost winced as she felt the impact of the two spells on her shields. Yes! She thought, she was still conscious. The two wizards from MoM stared at her. Then motioned for her to walk out. She did. They began to march at her side, in silence, toward a carriage. She could see this carriage was pulled by magic, she could feel the tingle of it as she got inside. She was angry with herself for using most of her magic in shaking the train, if she had it now she might be able to escape. Now she only had enough to defend herself if the MoM wizards attacked. They didn't. It seemed as long as she posed no threat, they didn't stun her. A good thing to keep in mind, that. She couldn't have escaped; the MoM wizards kept too close a watch on her. The carriage stopped after a ten-minute ride, coming across the front lawn of a. Candice's mouth dropped open. There, right in front of her eyes, was the most wonderful castle she had ever seen. It was beautiful, in a grand, museum-like way. Built of stone, the castle was obviously filled to the brim with magic, and was so large she couldn't see the end. The castle faced the west, and she could see a large, silvery lake to her right. To the north lay a forest, filled with what seemed like rogue magic. Another handy thing to remember. The castle was filled with many old-fashioned windows, large, full-length, impressive ones. There was the Hogwarts mascot above two huge oak doors, steadily drawing nearer. And lastly, if she strained her eyes, she could make out four magnificent towers rising above the fifth floor. These almost reached the clouds, and Candice had to crane her neck up to see them in the growing dusk. The grounds around the castle were magnificent and well cared for, and a hut next to the forest boasted a finely planted garden. The ministry wizards escorted her to the oak doors, where they formally knocked. The voice answered, and quickly beckoned them inside. Candice curiously looked at the voice. She hadn't actually seen the woman since the first video she had received, three years ago. She was a small, smart looking woman, with a very thin mouth. The MoM wizards followed her in, and continued to trail behind Candice as she followed the voice into a large room full of smaller children, who looked about 11. The voice cast a disapproving glance at Candice's outfit, and opened two more doors on the other end of the room, saying,  
  
"You will now go through these doors and be sorted into your houses. While here at Hogwarts, your house will be like your family. Triumphs will earn your house points, and rule breaking will lose points. At the end of the year the house with the most points will win the house championship. I hope each of you will be a great addition to whichever house you are chosen for." Candice almost snorted. No way would she be an addition to any house at this freak school. She sighed, and made a face. Right now, what choice did she have? At her back were the MoM wizards, and at her front, the open doors.  
  
So Candice sighed, and buried her pride. Giving the MoM wizard's wands a glance, she went through the open doors, and found herself in a giant room, with a ceiling that looked like the sky. She tried very hard not to act impressed. Before her were four long tables, each crammed with boys and girls in black robes. Behind Candice lay the teacher's table, where a long row of teachers sat and reviewed the students. The man in the silver robes and the long silver beard must be Albus Dumbledore. Candice caught her breath. She had read all about him. A shiver crept down her spine. The seat next to him was empty. Candice assumed that was where the headmistress would sit, meaning the voice was headmistress. Professor McGonagall. Before Candice stood a stool, on which Professor McGonagall placed an old, beat up looking Halloween hat. Candice couldn't help searching the room for an escape route, although she knew there would be none. Instead her eyes fell on a familiar face. Harry Potter. Candice met her cousin eye to eye, then turned her attention back to the crowd. Candice wasn't nervous. She had been in front of people many times, in her dance performances. The very thought brought a lump to Candice's throat, and a tear to her eye. She concentrated very hard on not breaking out in tears, on keeping her face poker. She only vaguely heard the hat begin to sing, and say something about Hufflepuffs being hard workers, Slytherins being ambitious, Ravenclaws being smart, and Gryffindors being brave. Everything seemed very distant and Candice sunk even lower in her misery. She almost collapsed with exhaustion and depression. And still Professor McGonagall talked on. . .  
  
Harry stared. He couldn't stop staring at the new girl. Everyone stared at her, but they didn't see what Harry saw. She was quite pretty, with a long sheet of jet-black hair, very white skin and dark green eyes. But that wasn't the reason he was staring at her. Nor was it the fact that she was wearing very flattering clothes of bright orange. It wasn't even the fact that she was taller than all of the other first years in the line. It was that she looked remarkably like himself. The same hair color, though hers was shiny and waved a little. The same small and skinny build, except her body was tightly attuned to grace. Her back was perfectly straight, and her would-be knobby knees straightened by years of training, her feet slightly turned out. She even had his green eyes, except hers were darker. Suddenly, she looked at him, eye to eye, green to jade. Her eyes did not make the familiar flick up to his forehead. Instead they flashed with recognition, before returning to their unreadable state. Something hit Harry in that moment. He had seen her before. He had met her before. He knew her. He didn't even notice the Sorting Hat's song; he was still staring at the girl. Professor McGonagall began to call out names from her list. Harry was jerked out of his trance when the Sorting Hat called out particularly loudly HUFFLEPUFF! When sorting Karen Aaron. He now stared determinedly at the sorting hat, only stealing a quick glance at the girl every time Professor McGonagall shouted a new name. Harry began to get impatient. The Sorting continued slower than ever, through E, then F, then I, and on and on and on. Harry started to fidget, and he gave up trying to stare at the Sorting Hat and continued to stare at the girl, who seemed very, well, almost sad. She had on a complete poker face. While other first years had nervous or confident looks, she had a completely unreadable look on her face. There was no light in the eyes that promised a sparkle, no smile in her lips, no pride in her stance. She looked like an empty soul, like someone who had been deprived of everything important to them. It was then that Harry noticed two others staring at the girl. Professor Dumbledore, and Professor Snape. Professor Dumbledore wore the look that meant he was thinking hard, and generally concerned. But what really surprised Harry was the look on Snape's face. It was one he had never seen before. Worry. Snape was worried about this girl, and his glance would have been almost paternal, if his hair had not been quite so greasy, and his nose not quite so hooked. Harry suddenly became aware that Professor McGonagall had stopped speaking. Professor Dumbledore was now clearing his throat. With the old twinkle in his eye, he began to speak.  
  
"As many of you have probably noticed, we have a new fourth year this year. This is not just any fourth year, this is the first mind magician Hogwarts has seen in 50 years. Please treat her with politeness, and welcome this rare form of witch to Hogwarts." Professor Dumbledore concluded, and resumed his seat. That had to be her. She was a mind magician. Sure enough, Professor McGonagall's next words were,  
  
"Potter, Candice!" and the girl in orange stepped forward. 


	9. It Sounded Like a Good Chapter Ending

Harry started, and a whisper erupted across the Great Hall. Potter. The word echoed against the walls. Whispered itself in Harry's mind, over and over. Then he relaxed. Potter wasn't such an odd last name. Obviously more than one person had it. Ron nudged Harry.  
  
"Hey, she's got your name!" Said Ron, staring rather blankly up at the girl in orange sitting under the Sorting Hat. . .  
  
Candice stepped forward as her name was called; growing paler and paler as the remainder of her strength began to fail. She almost stumbled as she sat on the stool, and the hat was dropped over her head.  
  
"Poor baby." Said the hat in her ear. "Your dream is still possible, I'll admit it's unlikely, but still possible. Now, as to where to put you. Not in Slytherin, you have no magical ambition whatsoever. Not Hufflepuff either, you're not very loyal, or honest. You're very clever, but I think you're more of the brave sort. Yes, you belong in GRYFFINDOR!" the hat ended. Candice wobbled slightly as she stood up. She needed to sleep. She stumbled down the steps to the head of the Gryffindor table. The first years had settled themselves right in front of her. But she wasn't a first year, she didn't belong to them. She looked around for people her age, hoping to find a place to sit. . . "Move over!" Hermione hissed, breaking Harry's state of blankness as he heard the Sorting Hat place the girl, Candice, in Gryffindor. "She needs a place to sit!" Harry and Ron quickly made room. Without smiling, or even acknowledging their sacrifice, Candice sat down besides Hermione. Blank, empty eyes stared at Dumbledore as he made the usual start-of-term notices, and then the food appeared. Harry was absorbed in the good meal for a time being, but as his hunger was quenched, so was his attention on food. Candice stared that same blank stare at the food before her. Harry now noted that along with that sad look she wore, she also looked slightly sick. She was breathing heavily and her eyelids kept threatening to drop, her eyes looking a bit bloodshot.  
  
"Are you going to eat?" Harry asked, startling Candice out of her state. She gave Harry a confused and blank look. Then she saw the food, as if for the first time. Hermione stopped eating, and loaded Candice's plate with potatoes, steak, and cooked carrots.  
  
"Harry's right, you need food." Hermione said firmly, almost shoving knife and fork into her hand. Candice did eat, slowly and carefully, and not nearly as much as Hermione thought she should, for Hermione frowned when Candice pushed back her plate. The desserts appeared soon after, and Candice wouldn't touch them. When Ron asked her about this, she responded that her body didn't need the extra fat and sugar, and she wasn't eating anything her body didn't need. Harry laughed at Ron's expression after he heard that. He must have thought she was crazy. She looked about ready to drop off to sleep after Dumbledore dismissed the students to bed, but followed the new prefect, Angelina Johnson, through the pathways to the Gryffindor tower. She didn't seem to hear the password Angelina gave, but she followed Hermione up the stairs to the fourth year girls' beds, and disappeared for the night. 


	10. Classes Begin

Candice woke early, and found herself in a strange bed. They won. I'm at Hogwarts, she thought. Back at home (the thought made her choke) she had had dance at four every morning. Now it was 3:30, and she had nothing to do. Her magic was almost totally back, but she had used so much yesterday that she was still tired. So I'll sleep in a little longer, then bust out of here, Candice thought.  
  
The next time she woke, she could sense other students already awake. It was now six o'clock. Candice felt a lot better having slept that long and resigned herself to classes, at least this first day. She would be out of here tomorrow, she promised herself. She got up, and realized that she didn't even have her own room. She was sharing it with three other girls! How was she supposed to get any privacy?!?! Candice looked at the hangings covering her bed from view.  
  
"I suppose those will have to do." She said aloud, sighing as she went down to the bathrooms. She took a short shower, spent a while getting on a new outfit and her hair up just right. That took about a half-hour. Shuffling down to the library, Candice began to look up the magical properties of privacy. Although these books were written for wizards, one of the first things the voice, Professor McGonagall, had taught her was how to convert normal spells into ones she could use. There were a surprising number of ways to privatize a small amount of space, and Candice couldn't wait to try some. Some looked rather advanced for her level, but she felt that if she really tried she could do this. She was just about to check the book out when a little voice at her elbow spoke out.  
  
"Dumbledore wishes we to give Miss her schedule!" Piped the small, dirty, house-elf. Candice had never seen one, just read about them, and for a minute she just stared. The she took the paper the house-elf held, thanked it, and watched as it scampered off. Candice looked at her schedule. Everything was where it should be, and the times all elective classes took place were there, a note at the bottom said she should just take the two electives she wanted, and tell the teacher this when she got to class. She noticed that breakfast would be starting about now, and she stopped by the great hall for an apple before going up to the Gryffindor tower. She had never eaten much breakfast, and wasn't going to start now. Getting back to the Gryffindor tower, she found she didn't remember the password. She was surprised she had remembered the way. She sat next to the picture of the fat lady, racking her brain, when the girl from last night, the one she had followed up, appeared.  
  
"You forgot the password didn't you?" the girl asked, still her pajamas, her bushy brown hair still disheveled from the night. She came back with a pile of books; she had been studying too.  
  
"Yeah." Candice said, dully. She did not make eye contact with this girl; she was one of them, the people who would stop her if she tried to escape. The girl raised one eyebrow, and gave the password. She walked into the common room and sat down at one of the tables, opened one of the giant books, and began to read. Candice watched her for a minute, then went through the portrait hole and went back up to her room. Sure enough, now there were only two girls in bed remaining. Candice opened the book she had checked out, and summoned her power. The spell took a little while; she was preventing any living creature from going through her bed hangings without invitation. When she finished, she gave the password, letting herself in, and pulled her trunk in after her. She pulled out her laptop, her wizarding one, and added Internet. This took a while too, as there were spells preventing her from doing such. When she finally accomplished the task, she owl-ordered a dresser. She ordered it out of her own account; she still had quite a lot saved up. She also needed a chair and table for her room; she would steal one from the common room. Next came a spell of silence over her hangings. No one would hear any sound out of her bed. According to the book, the next spell would take about an hour, and that was an hour Candice didn't have. Class started in ten minutes. Candice grabbed her laptop and prayed for a map. No help there. She went down to the common room. Her first class was transfiguration. She couldn't help looking for the girl with the bushy brown hair. She saw her talking to a red-haired boy, and Harry. The common room was busy now; everyone started to rush off to his or her classes. These particular three were all holding large transfiguration books; the same as Candice had on her computer. As she stood debating whether to ask for help or just follow them, the girl with bushy brown spoke to her again.  
  
"What's your first class?" The girl asked, eyeing Candice's laptop doubtfully.  
  
"Transfiguration." Candice mumbled, again avoiding eye contact.  
  
"In that case, you can walk with us, if you like." The girl smiled, and gestured toward the red-haired boy and Harry. Candice smiled and walked toward these three, how could she resist an offer like that?  
  
There she was. Today's outfit was one of a black tank top with tight- fitting jeans, the like of which Harry hadn't seen since his years in Dudley's school. Her hair curled nicely down her back, and was again in a half ponytail. She looked a bit majestic today, her pale skin made such a contrast with her black shirt. She carried nothing but what looked like a muggle laptop, and a little quill, inkwell, and sheet of parchment, all wrapped up in her bag. Right now she was looking around, those eyes of hers flashed confusion before returning to her blank mask. Harry noted that she was very good at masking her feelings, especially if you didn't know to look for that flash her eyes gave when she changed emotions. Hermione jerked him out of his daze.  
  
"Harry come on! We're going to be late for class!" she said, tugging at his robes.  
  
"No! Wait, Hermione, look!" Harry said, nodding toward Candice.  
  
"I don't see anything particular!" Hermione snapped, looking impatiently at her watch.  
  
"Wonder how she's getting away with all those clothes?" Ron observed, obviously checking out her very flattering clothing.  
  
"She doesn't know where to go!" Harry said, giving Hermione a look that clearly said 'Fix it'. Hermione sighed, rolled her eyes and approached Candice.  
  
Soon after Candice was walking beside them, now flanked by a very curious Harry and Ron.  
  
"I'm Hermione Granger. Tell me, why do you carry a laptop?" Hermione asked, past Harry and Ron's stares.  
  
"It contains my course books, and I just added Internet. It's actually quite a new thing. I read an article on it just last week 'Wizards and Useful Muggle Technology'. Since I was raised by muggles, it makes things easier to use combine both wizardry and muggle studies in my work." She answered. As Hermione was muggle born, she was very interested.  
  
"You were brought up by muggles, or were you muggle born?" Hermione asked, clearly interested.  
  
"Brought up, my parents died when I was little." She looked right at Harry when she said this. Harry opened his eyes wide. He couldn't tell if she recognized him or not.  
  
"I'm Harry Potter." He said rather hurriedly.  
  
"Obviously." Candice replied, nodding at Harry's scar without looking at it. Harry blushed.  
  
"How come you didn't have to go to school until now?" Ron asked, without introducing himself.  
  
"Well, the school sent me this laptop, and that professor of yours, McGonagall, would leave me daily instructions. Being a mind magician and all, I had to follow a different learning program for the first three years."  
  
"Oh. Can you create animals and stuff?" Ron continued.  
  
"If I knew how." Candice answered shortly.  
  
"Don't I know you from somewhere?" Harry suddenly blurted out. She didn't answer; she just raised an eyebrow at him. By now they had reached transfiguration, and Candice sat well away from Harry. Professor McGonagall frowned at Candice's clothes. Candice gave her an insolent smile. Hermione shook her head.  
  
"How is she getting away with breaking the dress code?" Hermione whispered, right as class started. Professor McGonagall seemed in a bad mood, mainly because Candice was in this class. It didn't help that Candice was obviously a good student, she answered as many questions as Hermione.  
  
Next class was History of Magic, and here Candice exceeded Hermione. She went as far as correcting Professor Bins, making the most interesting history lesson since Hermione has asked about the Chamber of Secrets in second year. Hermione didn't seem to mind at all. On the contrary, she loved having someone to compete with. Hermione and Candice were happily chatting about the finer points of "Hogwarts, A History" all the way through lunch. Candice decided on her electives, with help from Hermione, and sarcasm from Ron. She figured she'd be good at Arithmancy, as she'd been doing math for so many years, and Ancient Runes, as it might help her read the few books in the library written for mind magicians, in the old language. So Candice went with Hermione to Ancient Runes class, and Harry and Ron trudged down to Care of Magical Creatures. Hagrid decided they should study centaurs, so Harry and Ron had a surprisingly interesting lesson in which they asked Ronan and Bane questions about centaur life. How Hagrid had convinced Ronan and Bane to come out of the Forbidden Forest and talk to fourth years Harry and Ron would never know.  
  
Candice and Hermione seemed to be becoming fast friends, but Harry wondered about her. Hermione didn't seem to remember how much power this girl had. Harry had tried to shake a tree just this afternoon, with just magic, and had only managed for about five minutes. This girl held a lot of power. Harry still couldn't place how he knew her, but she looked so familiar it drove him crazy. He had almost come to the conclusion that she looked familiar because she resembled him. She had not spoken to him much, but he really couldn't judge her on the first day, that wasn't fair. Harry also noticed that he, Ron, and Hermione weren't the only ones taking an interest in Candice. The whole school had almost constantly been approaching her and asking her questions, and her vibrant clothes attracted eyes wherever she went. She hadn't spoken much to Ron either, but he was still sort of in awe about her, and wasn't very talkative.  
  
Candice almost cried when classes were over. The classes were so interesting, and the people so nice! She had never fit in better anywhere except in dance class. Her studies were more interesting, and hell, she liked magic! It was something she was born for, and she loved it more than she had ever loved school. She fit. But she had fit in dance class to, and Candice could already feel her muscles begin to twitch with lack of use. She lived on dancing, she needed to dance, and she wanted to dance. She had to find a way to either get out of here, or do both. Yes, getting out of here was a problem. She had no method of transportation. So far all she had was walking, and she couldn't walk into the Forbidden Forest, she didn't know enough hexes, and she needed out now. It probably wasn't too smart, but all she could do at the moment was walk out of Hogwarts, and pray for a muggle town to stay in. Candice didn't know why, except for the fact that they would probably find her when she ran, but she wanted to continue personalizing her 'room'. She didn't know what to do with the walls or bed. So she figured she'd finish creating the 'room' before Astronomy at 8:15. Candice took stock of her magical energies. Transfiguration had not taken too much out of her, she figured she still had enough to do the big spell she was about to attempt. This spell would enlarge the space her bed now occupied, without actually taking space from the dorm room. With a word, she could enter in and out of an enlarged bit of small space. The word she had chosen was 'quill', as was the password through her bed hangings. Candice figured if anyone heard her muttering this, they wouldn't think it any more than a mutter. Candice focused her magical energies on her bed hangings, and began the spell. Her eyes closed, the words of the spell seemed engraved in her mind. She pushed the magic toward her bed, and shaped it, told it what she wanted it to do, then she released it, and opened her eyes. Hermione stood right in front of her, wearing a scowl to match Professor McGonagall's. Candice still had a little magic left. Ignoring Hermione, Candice walked through her bed hangings, whispering the password so Hermione wouldn't hear. Candice was pretty sure Hermione had known what Candice was doing, and hadn't approved. For a moment, Candice wasn't sure the spell had worked, then she realized that while the room had shrunk, the bed had remained usual size. Now the bed was huge. Candice sighed, and performed a simple shrinking spell. As the bed shrunk, Candice felt a moment's disorientation. She was now sitting on her bed, surrounded by huge hangings. She now had a decent sized, private, room.  
  
The carpet was scarlet, as was the dormitory carpet. The walls were the hangings, and were also scarlet. Candice frowned at them, she didn't like red much. Maybe I'll read some decorating books later, she thought. That was all for now. Candice whispered the password, and just like it was supposed to, the spell spit her out of her newly made room, and she found herself outside her hangings.  
  
"I don't know whether to say, that's brilliant, or you could get in so much trouble for that." Hermione scowled. Candice sighed, looked at Hermione, and said,  
  
"Hermione, what was your life like before you got your letter? Were you good at any muggle sports? Did you have friends that you didn't like leaving? Did you have your heart set on a certain collage or career to follow? Did your Hogwarts letter ruin anything for you? Mine did. I was a dancing protégé, Hermione. I can dance so well, and it makes me so happy. I was going to Interlochen for high school, bound for Julliard after that, hell, I was heading for the top of the entertaining community! I had a dream, I had a love, and they took it, just like that. I'm an orphan, Hermione. I can't remember anything besides dozens of different foster parents. Dancing was all I had, all I hung on to. I lived it, breathed it. And without it, I am nothing. So here I am, trying to get out of this stupid school, trying to get expelled! I'm not staying here, Hermione. Nothing can make me. And if I die trying to get out, so be it. Without dance, I'm already dead." Candice didn't wait for Hermione to answer; she just went back down to the library to start rehearsing curses and hexes. She wasn't beaten yet! Her spirit wasn't broken! She would live to dance again! 


	11. How To Escape From Hogwarts

Candice almost skipped astronomy, but her curiosity overcame her want to continue studying. She couldn't wait to see what a wizard astronomy class was like! Well, astronomy was fascinating, but Candice was worried she had seriously upset Hermione. Hermione spent the class looking at her desk. She didn't once answer a question, or correct Ron. Wow. Candice chuckled at the thought. Hermione wasn't exactly nerdy, but she was what muggle children would call goody-two-shoes. Actually, Candice thought with admiration, Harry and Ron have a pretty good job of helping her become a little more lax about the rules. At dinner, Candice ate as much as she could, and took as much food back to her room as she could. When Candice went to bed that night, she saw a small piece of parchment taped to her hangings. It was written in tiny, neat handwriting that could only belong to one person. It read one word. Oxford.  
  
Candice woke early. She really didn't want to leave, but Hogwarts had no dancing, so Hogwarts had to go. She packed up her trunk, and tried not to look to longingly at the small little room she had worked so hard on. At 3:30 in the morning, Candice Potter walked out of Hogwarts, down the main driveway, and began to follow the train tracks of the Hogwarts Express, her trunk floating behind her. Candice didn't know where the kitchens were, so she had to make do with what she had scavenged from last night. She was hungry, but still she began to jog, feeling the delight in some kind of exercise, telling herself she would be dancing soon.  
  
Harry awoke with the feeling that something was wrong. In a way, he was right. He got dressed rather irritably, that annoying feeling in his gut making him anxious for some food. Hermione looked rather sad today, and Ron seemed to have picked up the same irritability. As soon as Harry got to the Great Hall, he realized what was wrong. The teachers were missing from the high table. No one sat there except Dumbledore, looking rather cross. Harry just stared.  
  
"They're looking for Candice." Hermione said very quietly, as both Harry and Ron turned to look at her.  
  
"Why would they look for her, she's asleep in your dormitory, right?" asked Ron, giving Hermione a quizzical look.  
  
"She left this morning. She wasn't there when I woke up." Hermione answered, and pulled Ron and Harry towards the Gryffindor table. Sure enough, Lavender and Parvati were busy telling the rest of the school that the teachers were missing because they were looking for the escaped mind magician. Dumbledore stood at the end of breakfast, and announced that there would be no first period today, on account of the teachers were not back yet. He looked extremely irritated. Harry shivered. He was sure glad he wouldn't have to face Dumbledore while he was like this. So Harry and Ron went back up to the Gryffindor common room after breakfast, and had a good game of chess. Hermione had gone up to the girls' dormitory.  
  
At 9:06 AM Hogwarts gave a small shiver. All of Hogwarts. The mind magician had returned. Everyone went to the second half of first period, and Candice appeared at Charms class. Hermione couldn't seem to decide whether or not she like Candice being back. Candice looked positively stormy. She was angry, and she kept twitching, as if she were about to go crazy form lack of movement. Professor Flitwick seemed to be avoiding her eyes. The whole class did. Yet Harry could tell she was glad she hadn't missed this class. They were beginning a unit on domestic charms, and started with home decorating. Now everyone saw what a dangerous being had entered their midst. Harry thought about the only time he had thought about running away, on the night the Knight Bus had picked him up. He realized the ministry would have caught up with him just like that. He was no match for the ministry. Candice however, was. She was cunning, crafty, and highly intelligent, quick witted, courageous, and lastly, enormously powerful. She could work the hardest Arithmancy problem in seconds. She could throw a hex in your face before you knew she was there. And she had just proved herself against the ministry and Albus Dumbledore. She had escaped everyone's control and protection for a whole five hours. Therefore, the whole school was in awe of her; the teachers looked at her with more respect. Mrs. Norris or Filch never went near her. Peeves would flee every time he saw her. It wasn't so much that she was magically powerful, she was socially powerful. She had gained the respect of most in the school, through a most unusual way, self-reliance. And as Harry looked at her, he saw what he himself must become in order to succeed. He must learn from her. He must beat Candice Potter. At that moment she caught him looking at her, green met green, and she smiled. It wasn't a friendly smile, it was a challenge.  
  
The whole school began to assume they'd get the first half of first period off, because Candice left each night for the next week. Each time it took the teachers longer to find her and bring her back. Once she was gone for a full day. Hermione seemed to be stuck between disgust and fascination with Candice. Hermione spent all of her time in the library, where she said Candice practiced hexes constantly, yet avoided talking to Candice about anything except what was absolutely necessary. Harry just watched. Candice was fascinating to watch. In class, as the teacher talked, you could hear the information registering itself into her mind, transforming itself into something it could use, and mastering it, all in a matter of seconds. Any room she was in felt like it had a particularly loud bee in it; her mind seemed to move so fast. Harry believed the first step to learning was watching, at least that was what Professor McGonagall said. He noticed that Hermione seemed to have the same obsession to be like Candice. Candice did that to you, inspired you to be something better, something more like her. In fact, she wasn't a very likeable person. She was headstrong, opinionated, and very self-confident. She wasn't conceded, but the way she flaunted her beauty with her clothes said she was at least somewhat vain, and she had an annoying habit of always being right. Yet the more Harry talked to her, the more Harry figured her out. This also brought along a new type of kinship with Hermione. They both began to strive for the same thing. To be as good, or better, than Candice.  
  
Candice closed the last book, and allowed her powers to rest. She had done enough tonight. She eliminated the light above her head, the mind magician version of the 'Lumos' spell, and trudged across the carpet, now a pretty pearl white, to her bed, which now displayed a dancer on the cover. She took a last look at the walls covered in dance pictures (copied from her magazines) and fell asleep. Her last conscious thought was a good one. She now knew 80 helpful curses and hexes; she was ready for the big test.  
  
Candice slept very little that night. She had been building up a store of food for the last week. Her trunk was full. Even though she had escaped every morning this week, she had known after the first attempt that just walking out of Hogwarts would not get her anywhere. She had only continued to try this route because she wanted to see the different ways the teachers would stop her. McGonagall had caught her all six times, probably because McGonagall had the most magician blood in her, and thought more like one. However, this week had proved the strategies of all the teachers, and now Candice felt ready to handle them. She took a secret passageway out of Hogwarts, one she had discovered behind the statue of Boris the Bewildered. It led to the north side of Hogwarts, right next to Hagrid's cabin, and the Forbidden Forest. Candice slipped past Hagrid's hut, silent as a shadow, just in case anyone bothered to look or listen around here tonight. She took a deep breath and stared into the black sea of trees before her. Creating a light, she walked into the Forbidden Forest. From there she used a summoning charm to get her trunk, and set off into the trees. Candice needed the light, she decided it was twice as dangerous without it. But she walked quietly anyway, and kept a constant watch on everything around her. She was agile enough to avoid the uneven footage of the forest, but this type of ground did not allow her to travel any faster then a quick walk. Candice wished she could fly a broomstick, but McGonagall had told her just yesterday that with her behavior, the privilege of that class was not going to be granted to her. Pity teachers aren't stupid, Candice thought. Right then, Candice heard a voice. She froze, and dimmed her light to a mere whisper. Every nerve was tense and on alert. The voice moved closer. Candice jumped up the nearest tree, praying nothing lived in it. She was lucky. The voice, now voices, passed beneath her. As soon as she saw the procession of black members, her eyes widened considerably, and she extinguished her light. At the back of the procession came a man, a small puny rat-like man. Sniveling slightly, he was using his wand to help along what looked like a crippled old man. Then his eyes turned toward the sky. Candice's heart was thumping so loud she was sure he could hear it, and she tried not to scream, the thing was so repulsive. It was a ghost, of sorts. A half-human. Part of this man seemed real, and some seemed almost transparent. That wasn't the scary thing about this creature. That attribute belonged to the look the body gave off. For it was a body, a dead body. Candice could see the rotting skeleton, almost smell the moldy bones. The paper-thin skin hung off of this creature, and it moved very little on its own. Candice could see an outline of what the corpse had once resembled, and that figure of power scared her too. The thing's eyes were blood red, and just looking at them made Candice shiver. Snivel continued to help this thing along, yet as it passed under Candice, a sharp howl pierced the silence of the night. The people below seemed frightened, and they moved more quickly. When they had passed, Candice came down very slowly, and began again, to walk. She was frightened, very frightened, but she really was escaping from Hogwarts, it wouldn't do to lose her gut now. Yet she couldn't help jumping at every twig that snapped, and every cricket's chirp. Soon Candice didn't need her light, she had come to a rather pretty moonlit clearing. Candice stopped dead in her tracks. A thought had just occurred to her. Candice glanced at the sky, knowing what she would see, and her heart sank. She gazed up at a full moon. As if on cue, another howl swam up through the trees, this time much closer. Another answered it, and another. Candice listened as howl after howl chorused through the dark, and grew nearer and nearer. Every time Candice thought about climbing up a tree, another howl would send a shiver down her spine, and she began to search the surrounding trees for any sign of the approaching wolves. Not that it took them long to get there at all. Soon a sea of growling, hungry, werewolves surrounded Candice on all sides. Candice opened her trunk, and began to throw the food inside to the ground. The wolves quickly began to quarrel over that, and Candice tried to slip away. She took one tiny step toward the nearest tree, trying to calm her pounding heart and praying the wolves wouldn't notice her. Candice moved more quickly as she succeeding in exiting the circle of wolves. They were finishing up, Candice began to sprint. She heard another chorus of growls behind her. Candice was sure she wouldn't be the winner of the race-to-the- tree battle and she didn't wait to find out. She took off as fast as her legs would carry her, with a pack of hungry werewolves on her heels. Unfortunately, they had four legs, and she only had two. She could hear them growling and snapping, catching up to her in a wave of gray. Candice saw a tree ahead with a low branch. Glad she had spent so much time in gymnastics, Candice gathered her strength, and jumped for it. Her hands connected with the branch, and she began to swing up on top of it when she saw the wolf. The largest wolf had also jumped, and was heading straight for her foot. Candice had no time to react; it was her martial arts instincts that saved her. She managed to retract her leg and kick the wolf right on the nose. The thing yelped and fell to the ground. Candice had to attempt another swing. She swung her legs back, and looked down at the snarling gray snouts. Another would jump. She heard it behind her as she swung, there was nothing she could do, and she had too much momentum. This wolf had decided to avoid her precious feet, and its ugly snout clamped onto her shoulder instead. Candice screamed, and tried not to let go of the branch, but it was inevitable. She fell, the wolf still burying its teeth in her shoulder. She screamed again, she had never known so much pain, and felt her grip slip. She felt herself fall through the pain of her shoulder, felt the jaws below waiting to devour her. But she wouldn't give up yet. She hit the ground with a dull thud, and thrust her magic out against the wolves. She fought for consciousness, tried to keep breathing and ignore the unbearable pain in her shoulder. She managed to throw out enough curses to force the wolves to back up into their original positions, surrounding her. Candice slowly got to her feet, trying very hard to keep aware of the movement of the wolves. Climbing a tree was now impossible; she couldn't do anything on that shoulder. She readied her magic, and as much of her body as would work. She would show these wolves who was boss.  
  
Harry Potter awoke with a start. Something was horribly wrong. This was more than just Candice missing, this was awful. Harry fought down nausea and got slowly out of bed. He itched to fix the feeling of wrongness he felt. He opened a window to try to settle his upset stomach with some fresh air. He idly glanced down towards Hagrid's cabin. Then he heard it, the most horrible scream shot through the trees of the Forbidden Forest, and Harry's sense of wrongness intensified. The voice that uttered the scream was sickeningly familiar. Harry grabbed his wand and stuffed it into his pajama pocket. Without a second thought, he jumped on his firebolt and raced out the open window. This did nothing for his stomach. Harry went over the Forbidden Forest, and towards the sound of the second scream. Candice Potter was in trouble. 


	12. The Forbidden Forest

Candice wasn't faring well, she tried to use her magic in the best possible way, but there were just to many of them. She had her back against a tree, and concentrated on injuring each of the wolves in turn as they attacked her. This might have worked, except for the fact that werewolves still contained the intelligence of human beings. Their attacks were planned, their formations intelligent. Still Candice fought; throwing a jelly legs curse on the wolf that seemed fastest, shouting 'Impedimenta!' at the wolf running at her. Stunning as many as she possibly could, blasting the wolf now released from the impediment charm, kicking out at the wolf that had managed to reach her as it took what felt like a chunk out of Candice's stomach. Candice's eyes darted here and there. It was the dead of night. No one would know she was dead until late the next day. Growing more determined than ever, Candice almost collapsed from the pain of her shoulder, and now her stomach. She was cut and bruised in a dozen different places, and still the wolves came again, rushing her, always hungry, never slacking for a moment. Candice, for all her brilliance, could not take these wolves alone.  
  
Harry peeled his eyes for the maker of those screams. Flew faster and dipped lower into the forest itself. His nausea was almost unbearable, and his scar itself was beginning to twinge. Harry spared a precious moment to touch it with his cool hand. It felt very warm. Harry frowned, and flew all the more faster, with all the more caution. Then he heard it. The sound of wolves in battle, the sparkle of many curses being released. The yips and growls made a very eerie music indeed to this night. The full moon. Those weren't just any wolves, they were werewolves! Harry thought. He flew lower, and saw what he feared most. Candice was there, her jade eyes wide and blazing, blood flowing freely from a dozen places, trying to fight the largest pack of werewolves Harry had ever seen, or read about. He didn't stop to think, just flew straight at the nearest wolf. Harry realized that this wasn't one pack, this was two, united for the purpose of taking down this very resistant prey. Half the wolves had stopped to feast on their dead or stunned comrades. Harry began to repeatedly stun these, aiming carefully as the wolves hadn't spotted him yet. There. Five down, twenty to go. Candice was still holding her own, though she needed serious help. Harry allowed himself a moment's pride. He was helping the great Candice. Now the wolves noticed him. The huge ugly gray beasts began to jump at his flying broomstick, snapping madly at his exposed feet. Harry drifted higher, just out of reach of those snapping jaws. This attracted more wolves, and seemed to drive them into a mad fury. Now that they were all clumped together, Harry could stun them more easily. He was really quite pleased with himself when it happened. One of the wolves caught hold of his foot, and dragged him downward. The first feeling Harry experienced was one of great pain coming from his left foot, and the extreme pull towards the ground of the wolf hanging off his foot. The firebolt was a good broom, it stayed aloft, but almost unconsciously Harry slid off of it, and into the waiting jaws of the fifteen remaining wolves.  
  
There seemed to be less of them, Candice thought dimly, as the overpowering pain in her body blurred her mind from clear thought. She had stunned quite a lot of them, and something behind Candice's tree seemed to be more interesting to them than Candice herself. I should find out what it is, thought Candice. Something more deadly than the wolves? An ally of the hooded people she had seen before? Candice didn't know. Slowly she pushed herself to her feet, and walked around the tree. What she saw made her heart leap into her throat and her eyes widen with disbelief. Harry Potter was here?!? Harry Potter? He had followed her! Now she was angry. With anger came more power. She directed it toward the mound of wolves snapping at Harry, trying to reach him while he stayed on his broom. He looked as if he were almost enjoying this, stunning the wolves from the perfectly safe position of his broomstick. Candice was still attracting a wolf or two, but if Harry weren't careful, he'd need Candice a lot more. So she forced herself to stay focused, to watch the wolves jumping at Harry, to stun as many as possible. A wolf pounded into her leg. It crumpled beneath her. Candice's eyes filled with tears as she waited for some of this new pain to dull a little, stunning the wolf that had rushed her, she turned back to Harry, just in time to see a wolf reach his foot and drag him off of his broom. He was her cousin. His parents had risked their lives for her, now she would risk her life for him. Somewhere inside her, Candice found the strength to hobble into the mass of gray covering Harry's fallen body. She struck out with every limb she had, even if it hurt so much she almost collapsed on top of Harry. She threw stunning spells in all directions, standing protectively over the unconscious form of her cousin. There was now a reasonable number left. Ten. Candice sighed, hoped and prepared for the last stand. 


	13. The Centaur's Clue

Harry awoke just a little, and decided it was much better to lie back down. Every particle of his being was either sore, bruised, or just plain broken. He felt like he would never move again. He wished the wolves had killed him. The wolves! Where were they? Why didn't he feel the grip of their jaws on his throat? What had protected him from being eaten? Now Harry's eyes flew open, and he sat up in alarm. But it wasn't the forest that materialized before him; it was the comfortable picture of the Hospital Wing.  
  
When Candice woke up, she could do nothing but sigh. She hadn't been ready. It wasn't more curses she needed; it was more common sense. Stupid stupid! Candice thought. She had to be really dumb, to go into the forest on the night of the full moon. Tears streamed silently down Candice's cheeks. She had already heard Dumbledore's disciplinary speech; she had already been told she must except this new life, and she disagreed. But that wasn't Dumbledore's way. He was capable of agreeing to disagree, as long as things still went his way. A wise man, surely, but too dependent on himself. She was in need of healing, an art which she now deemed necessary to master herself. She had managed to stun some of the remaining wolves, and when they realized they were beaten, the last four or five fled. Candice had summoned Harry's broom, her trunk, and Harry. Harry had proposed a problem. How was she to get him back to Hogwarts? The answer was her trunk. If she left it open, Harry could comfortably rest on top of her folded wardrobe. The wolves had finished any food that had been in there. So Candice just performed a hover charm and spent minutes trying to wrestle Harry into the trunk. She then used his broom for support to get out of the forbidden forest. She didn't know how to fly, but she wasn't so dumb that she couldn't pull one leg over the broom and hold on. She was probably doing it all wrong, but she didn't care. All that mattered was getting out of the forest. She managed to sort of fly the broom, leaning forward a little to make it go, she almost had an accident when she tried to heighten the broom so as not to disturb her crushed leg. Well, she had gotten to the end of the forest, knocked on the giant's cabin door, and passed out. Madam Pomfrey had been working on both she and Harry all night, if you couldn't counteract the werewolf's bite in the first few hours, you were a werewolf for life. Only after she had managed that did Madam Pomfrey fix Candice and Harry's broken bones, then cuts then bruises. Now they had been ordered to rest for a day or so, as they recovered from being stuffed with potions every hour. Every muscle in Candice's body ached, and she wished Harry hadn't gotten involved. It was true she probably owed him her life, and he owed her the same, but she didn't want help. She might need it, but she didn't want it. She wanted to beat the teachers on her own. Candice wondered again if she should tell Harry they were cousins. No, let him figure that out on his own. He was pretty bright, but Candice found him slightly headstrong. He jumped to conclusions too quickly. It would be the challenge he wanted her to give him, finding out what she knew about him that he didn't. Candice sighed. Weeks of preparing, and she failed. No one was stupid enough to journey into the forest on the night werewolves existed. Candice shook her head. This would take more planning than she had suspected. What if the Forbidden Forest went on for so many miles it would take her more than a month to get through? Where exactly was the nearest muggle town? Candice needed to know exactly where she was going, instead of randomly running off. She also needed to get there faster. Maybe if she did, Candice could just enroll in dance classes there and continue to go to Hogwarts. To move faster, Candice needed to fly.  
  
Harry recovered, a bit embarrassed about Candice saving his life. It had occurred to him for the first time in the forest that she was much younger than he was. She probably had skipped a grade, knowing or unknowing; she had to be almost a full year younger than he was. So it seemed correct when Candice approached him the next day after classes ended.  
  
"Harry, will you teach me to fly?" She had asked, very plainly and up front.  
  
"Um. er. won't the teachers get mad?" He asked, complimented, but a little taken aback. Candice laughed, and smiled at him, a twinkle in her eye.  
  
"Not if they don't know about it." She replied, giving him puppy dog eyes. Harry laughed; she was actually being friendly!  
  
"Well I don't know, are you going to tell me how you plan to learn to fly without the teachers noticing?" Harry smiled. Candice rolled her eyes.  
  
"Oh come on, it's me, remember? I've got a teacher-proof plan!" Candice spun on her heel, beckoned to Harry, then strolled out the door. Harry looked at Hermione and Ron's rather stunned faces, then laughed.  
  
"If you'll excuse me, I have to teach Genius over there how to fly, catch you guys at dinner!" Harry jogged down the hall after Candice.  
  
Harry was pretty surprised when she led him right onto the Quidditch field.  
  
"Oh Candice, come on, any teacher can look outside and see us here!" Harry said. He couldn't believe she had chosen the Quidditch field, what was she thinking?  
  
"You're very funny," Candice said sarcastically, "now go get a school broom while I get this spell going." Candice began to walk around the field in a sort of trance, a soft dust falling behind her as she walked. Harry shrugged, and went to get a school broom. When he came back, Candice was not on the Quidditch field. Harry frowned and walked onto it, looking around for some sign of her. As soon as he stepped on the field, she materialized before him. Harry jumped.  
  
"It's called a circle of invisibility. It hides every moving thing from view. Unfortunately, we can't yell, everyone can still hear us." Candice said, smiling at Harry's stunned expression. Harry blinked, and passed Candice a broom.  
  
Candice was a good student. She learned very quickly, and by the end of the first practice, she could control the broom pretty well in direction and speed. Harry gave Candice flying lessons all week, after the first day Ron showed up on his Golden Arrow and helped. By the end of the week, Candice knew how to fly a broom.  
  
Now for a broom of my own! Candice thought as she scrolled through the broomstick section of the internet. I need one that can go pretty fast, she thought, and decided to order the newest nimbus brand, Nimbus 2002. It wasn't as good as Harry's Firebolt, but it was fast enough for Candice. Candice wrote down that the broomstick be taken to Hermione, she couldn't be seen with a broomstick herself. She hoped Hermione wouldn't mind.  
  
Candice had not made an attempt to escape from Hogwarts in exactly three weeks. All she had accomplished during this week was a whole lot of studying. She seemed to study everything. Just a few of the books she had checked out were: Aerobatics: Advanced Tricks on Broomstick, Medicine: The Art of Magical Healing, Magical Martial Arts, a Guide to Self-Defense. She also continued to study history, mostly about ancient wars and famous military witches or wizards. Every book she checked out in the library suddenly sprouted a very long waiting list, usually with Hermione and Harry at the top. The whole school was in awe of Candice; she represented the person everyone secretly wished they could be. This outer mask of Candice's only came down in the presence of Harry, Hermione and Ron. She and Hermione were best friends, they did everything together. They really understood each other, and soon became almost inseparable. Harry became a little like Candice's older brother. He liked her; she was funny, in a droll sort of way. He often felt compelled to look after her, and the two were very affectionate towards each other, in a brother/sister fashion. Ron seemed to have fallen completely for the pretty magician, and followed her around like a puppy dog. Hermione and Harry found this incredibly amusing, and Candice herself would only blush and flirt shyly with the love-struck boy. As Harry and Hermione struggled to emulate Candice's unbeatable brilliance, Candice herself was becoming frustrated. Magic interested her greatly, and she never grew bored in class. It was just, well, the library wasn't very useful, and the books for mind magicians Candice had decoded were rather useless. Candice had a plan to put into play, and she needed to know how a mind magician became an animagus. Her answer did not come until one night in the Gryffindor common room, in the middle of playing a very exciting game of chess with Ron.  
  
".. so to show how a centaur talks, Hagrid had Ronan take each one of us out of sight from the rest of the class, and tell us something special. Each saying is supposed to be unique to the person Ronan said it to, but some of them were so vague they could apply to anybody, anyway, the assignment was to decode what the centaur has to tell you. I think Hagrid meant it as an impossible assignment!" Harry ended, smiling down on Candice as he stood behind her and saw she was winning.  
  
"Yeah," added Ron, "Ronan told me that 'the position you are to fill is one of great importance, don't throw yourself away on little pleasures.' Whatever that means!" Ron smiled, shook his head, and captured Candice's rook. She sighed, and asked,  
  
"Harry, what did the centaur tell you?" Harry gave Candice a long look.  
  
"He told me two things. One of them he told me not to say to anyone, and the other he said to tell you." Candice cocked her head to one side, giving Harry a curious frown. "Ronan referred to you as 'the Bright One', he said to tell you 'you cannot find the answer you seek until you can overcome the fear of the place where it can be found.' I won't ask if that makes sense to you, centaurs seldom make sense to anybody. Candice didn't answer, and seemed preoccupied the rest of the night. Yes, she was definitely preoccupied, for she lost the game to Ron.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: frankly, im getting discouraged. If you like this, review it. If I get enough reviews, ill add another chapter. PS it doesn't matter whether the reviews are good or bad 


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